Residents of villages surrounding the Ash-Shuqab front, south-east of Saber al-Mawadim district in Taiz governorate, south-western Yemen, are increasingly concerned about a return to escalation amid military movements that government forces say the Ansar Allah group, known as the Houthis, is carrying out in preparation for a possible attack.
The tension coincides with the daily hardship caused by a rough mountain road that serves both as the residents’ main route and as a supply road for military positions. Taiz’s mountain-belt fronts are militarily important because they extend across high ground containing strategic positions, including Mount al-Numan, Mount Habashi, Jurdad and Saber.
Control divided on the Ash-Shuqab front
The Ash-Shuqab front lies within the Mount Saber area and has experienced intermittent tension between the two sides in the fighting over recent years, while nearby villages are directly affected by any change on the ground. The Houthi group and government forces share control of the Ash-Shuqab area.
The group controls the eastern section overlooking Dhamnat Khadir, as well as areas extending towards the al-Aqroud subdistrict, administratively part of Saber al-Misrah district. Its positions include Talat al-Salihin, Talat al-Mashhouth and the villages of Arqab and Habour, while government forces control the western section overlooking Saber al-Misrah and neighbouring areas.
Raed al-Kahlani, commander of the government forces’ al-Hisn position, said the military situation on the front involved movements and preparations by the Houthi group, including the mobilisation of personnel and the installation of heavy weapons, which he described as preparations for a possible attack on government forces’ positions. In al-Kahlani’s assessment, the group is preparing to launch an attack that could target the Ash-Shuqab, al-Aqroud and al-Misrah fronts.
He said 120-millimetre mortar shells and drones were being used to target positions, alongside what he described as a process of linking targets in preparation for shelling them. The military commander said Ash-Shuqab’s importance was linked to its location and connection with surrounding areas, arguing that control of it could open the way towards al-Aqroud, al-Misrah and Saber.
He also accused the Houthi group of trying to recruit residents of some villages to gather information, placing this within what he said were the group’s preparations ahead of any possible attack. Al-Kahlani added that the movements observed on the front were accompanied by preparations of heavy weapons and the deployment of forces for an attack.
By contrast, he said the fighters stationed at government positions were ready to deal with any escalation, that their morale was high and that they were prepared to remain in their positions and confront any possible attack. Close to the front, daily life in the villages is tied to the road leading to the front lines. Residents and fighters use the same road, while field restrictions apply to filming some positions.
A mountain road serving residents and military positions
The journey to Kahlan and Ash-Shuqab begins at the foot of Mount Saber, via Saber al-Misrah district, then climbs towards the highland areas near the fighting positions. Nader al-Kahlani, a young man from the Kahlan area in Saber, accompanied a tour along the mountain road.
The participants used a vehicle on which residents rely to transport food and basic necessities. It carried about 15 passengers, along with sacks of flour and other foodstuffs bound for villages in the highlands. The route passes through the Arsh area and along a road locally known as Jabha. Residents rely on it to reach their villages and transport their needs, and it is also used to supply military positions on the front.
As the vehicle moved on, the roughness of the road became increasingly apparent. The route narrows at several points and is bordered by slopes that make the journey dangerous. At one sharp bend, a woman on board clung to her seat and said: “God, protect us.” The scene reflected what passengers face on a journey that has become a recurring part of life in the area, despite the risks caused by the road’s narrowness, steepness and difficulty to cross.
Saddam Mohammed, a local resident, said people had become used to these journeys, adding: “We are always used to it this way.” But familiarity with the rough road does not lessen its impact, particularly on patients and emergency cases requiring rapid transport from the mountain villages to Taiz city for treatment.
Asked about the difficulties involved in evacuating patients, Saddam said: “Sometimes the patient arrives in a serious condition, having already died.” His testimony reveals the scale of the risks caused by slow movement and the difficulty vehicles face in reaching people, especially when a patient’s condition is critical and cannot withstand hours of travel along mountain routes.
Vehicles are not available to all residents or at all times, forcing some people to carry their needs on their backs and walk sections of the road. Donkeys are also used to transport tools, food and other supplies to the highland villages that are difficult to reach by conventional means of transport.
Arafat al-Kahlani, from Kahlan village, said residents relied on a single vehicle that made one journey a day. He explained that many necessities were transported on residents’ backs or by donkey, amid limited transport options and the difficult road separating the village from the areas where people obtain basic supplies.
Arafat described the details of travelling: “We carry everything on our backs, or on donkeys. We have one car in the village that goes only once a day. We take some of our needs with it, but we walk along the road. Sometimes I walk to al-Aqroud and climb the mountain carrying the goods on my back.” The road’s effects are not limited to the hardship of movement, as difficult access and the length of the journey drive up food prices.
Rough road drives up food costs
Arafat said the price of a sack of flour rose by about 2,000 Yemeni rials, equivalent to 1.2 US dollars, because of the rough road and the cost of transporting goods to the area. Residents bear this additional cost as well as the effort required to deliver their purchases to their homes. As the problem continued, residents launched an initiative to build a road to Ash-Shuqab and collected donations from their own money to finance the work.
The initiative aims to facilitate movement for village residents while also improving the delivery of supplies to military positions near the front. Residents are calling on the local authority and relevant bodies to repair the road, which is their main route to other areas.
A resident who asked not to be named said people had previously contacted the local authority and the public works office, asking for equipment on the road to be removed so they could widen it and repair its damaged sections. Their requests received no response, he said. Heavy machinery known locally as “al-Harrara” is located on the road. Residents say it belongs to the local authority and has been out of service at the site for years.
Its continued disuse reinforces residents’ sense that the road carrying their daily needs and reaching the front positions is not receiving sufficient attention, while the area relies on its residents’ efforts to ease its difficulties. Residents’ homes in Kahlan and Ash-Shuqab are a short distance from the front lines, and many of the fighters stationed at the positions come from the same villages.
Escalation threatens food, treatment and movement
Residents are on alert in anticipation of any escalation, amid military reports of mobilisations and preparations for a possible attack and the changes it could bring to the situation on the ground. For residents, escalation would mean more than a shift in the fighting positions, as it could quickly affect the only road used to bring in food and medicine and transport patients.
It could also affect families’ ability to remain in their villages, particularly if vehicle movement is disrupted or risks increase along the route near the front. Fighters climb the mountain to guard their positions, while residents descend along the same road in search of food, medicine and treatment.
The difficulty of reaching the front is therefore directly linked to the difficulty of life in the surrounding villages, as the Jabha road serves civilian movement, the transport of their needs and the supply of fighting positions. Residents of Kahlan and Ash-Shuqab continue to build sections of the road through their own efforts after its roughness affected food prices, patients’ movement and residents’ travel.
On the other side, fighters from the villages stand at positions only a short distance from their homes, while residents continue their daily lives with the possibility that fighting could return to the highlands.
